Gordon Gekko was right. Lunch is for wimps. So is breakfast, for that matter. Anyone who wants to master their weight, health and fitness, and save time and money by literally doing nothing should explore the world of fasting.

But unlike Gekko’s propensity for making big bucks on the backs of hard working, salt of the earth folk, you won’t see many companies or salespeople shilling for the fasting lifestyle. That’s because there’s nothing to sell. No overpriced box of breakfast flakes. No free prize inside.

If you really feel like you need to purchase something to give you the conviction to pursue fasting, you should buy Brad Pilon’s e-book, Eat, Stop, Eat. Brad advocates a routine of eating no calories for 24 hours and then eating normally the following day. Brad recommends three 24-hour fasting periods per week. And now that I just gave away Brad’s secret for free, you don’t need to buy the e-book, after all. Brad has found benefits of fat loss and muscle gains by simply following this protocol.

You could hire Martin Berkhan of Leangains, whose clients are a parade of incredibly shredded individuals. Martin occasionally shares on his blog a propensity to eat an entire cheesecake in one sitting or to “let the good times roll” with vodka shots. The Leangains approach involves 16 hours of fasting. So, if you have your last bite at 8 p.m., you won’t eat again until noon the next day. The Leangains approach even lets you eat lunch! This is what followed for more than two years, until recently.

By watching British TV journalist Michael Mosley’s documentary Eat, Fast and Live Longer, you will learn how he lowered his IGF-1 levels and body fat percentage. IGF-1 is a hormone that promotes growth in children but can also lead to cancer in adults and contributes to biological aging. Michael eats one meal limited to 600 calories on one day and eats normally on the second day.

Or you could copy my approach. Since November, I’ve lowered my bodyfat while even increasing my muscle mass. It doesn’t involve popping pills, mixing powders or watching what I eat. In fact, I had one-and-a-half BLT sandwiches and a pile of home fries for dinner with two massive slices of ice cream cake for dessert. I also had a bowl of cereal, because I felt like it. Just for kicks, I punched it all into the MyFitnessPal app on my phone — still under my daily calories.

My approach is this: one four-hour window of eating. That means 20 hours of not eating. From about 5 to 9 p.m., I feast. Football star Herschel Walker, UFC mixed martial artist Ronda Rousey and retired US General Stanley McChrystal, all busy and physically active people, have been known to take advantage of this way of eating.

Do not be mistaken. You can still achieve most of these benefits through other means. You can plan, cook and eat six to eight healthy meals per day and track your macronutrients using scales and apps and still reap the rewards of fat loss and gains in lean muscle mass. Fasting is merely one approach.

The important people who read CEO.CA probably have power lunches and conduct some of their most important wheeling and dealing over food at midday. However, the innovators amongst you can follow in the footsteps of smart guys like Steve Jobs, Jack Dorsey and Mark Zuckerberg and lead walking meetings instead.

With no juice cleanse bottles to guzzle, electronic tracking bracelets to wear, shaker cups to shake and fewer opportunities for Instagram food pics, you should check with your doctor before pursuing such a radical method of eating.

My recommendation? Heed Gekko’s words, and don’t be a wimp.

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Michael Allison

Michael is a manager of corporate reputation working in the energy utility sector. He has experience consulting for public relations agencies, brands and clients on their public reputation. More →

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